Allen R. Wilson is the duly elected Wayne County Commissioner for District 11, representing the cities of Belleville, Flat Rock, Romulus and Wayne in addition to the townships of Huron, Sumpter and Van Buren.
As a teenager, Allen was hired at UAW-Ford Local 600's Dearborn Assembly Plant (DAP), in the Trim Department, where he began his robust union advocacy. Allen got started in the UAW when he got elected as one of the youngest union bargaining committee representatives in 1984. Prior to that, he was elected for the first time, as a delegate to the UAW International Constitutional Convention in 1983. Allen went on to be elected by the union membership as a UAW Constitutional Convention delegate to each successive tri-annual convention through 2002, when he was promoted to UAW International Staff.
Nonetheless, after serving two terms as the elected union bargaining committee representative for the unit,Allen sought and got elected in 1990 to the UAW Local 600 unit president/chairman's position in the DAP. He was elected for three terms as the unit plant president/chairman between 1990 and 1999. The union plant constituency was comprised of about 3,500-4,000 members at that time.
After representing the union membership in several elected leadership roles for nearly 20 years, Allen was recognized and appointed to UAW International Union staff as a servicing representative on July 14, 2002, by the late UAW President Stephen P. Yokich. He was assigned to UAW Region 1A, under former Director Jimmy Settles. He went on to service the UAW membership as an International Servicing Representative until April 2014, when he was officially appointed to the UAW International President's Office as an Administrative Assistant to former UAW President Bob King and, thereafter, he assumed the same role under former UAW President Dennis Williams. After working as an Administrative Assistant in the UAW Appeals Department from 2014-2018, Allen was appointed by then UAW Region 1A Director Chuck Browning. He held this post until April 26, 2020, when he was asked to lead the UAW Appeals Staff as the Top Administrative Senior Assistant to UAW President Rory L. Gamble. He humbly accepted this opportunity to work for President Gamble, who came up through the ranks with Allen at UAW-Ford Local 600's sprawling Rouge Complex, during the 80's and 90's.
Notwithstanding, because of Allen's desire to be the best that he could be as a knowledgeable representative for union membership, he decided to pursue his collegiate aspiration of attaining an advanced education. He sacrificed personal and family time to attend Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. During his studies, Allen obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Affairs and Policy Administration, on Dec. 15, 1994. He also made the Dean's List. Allen desired to return to the academic arena in the summer of 2004 and earned a Master of Arts Degree in Dispute Resolution, on Aug. 26, 2006, where he graduated at the top of his class.
During the interim, Allen also received a certificate in Civil Court Mediation (MCR 2.411), approved by the Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), on June 4, 2005. Afterwards, he was assigned to the Oakland County Mediation Center to fulfill the practicum requirements for this attribution. He was a practicum Mediator who administered over 20 court cases as an Oakland County Civil Court Mediator in the spring of 2005.
In light of Allen's scholastic achievements and extensive labor background, after receiving his Master's degree, he was appointed to serve on the Wayne State University Alumni Association's Board of Directors through the term ending Feb. 18, 2008. In addition, he was recognized for outstanding service on the Board by then Board President Mary Ann-Tyler Allen in 2008 and received an accreditation for this feat.
Additionally, Allen remains active in the community and is thoroughly engaged in community activities in conjunction with the electoral process. He, oftentimes, volunteered to help those who were less fortunate by helping to distribute groceries in the Forgotten Harvest food give away drive-thru that is conducted every Tuesday at Romulus High School.
Allen is a longstanding member of the Michigan Democratic Party, an elected Democratic Precinct Delegate and a State Central Committee member since 2018. He was re-elected to State Central in 2021.
Further, Allen was appointed as one of two Democrats to serve as a Wayne County Board Canvasser in October 2019 by Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett and subsequently approved by the same Wayne County Commission he now serves on. It should be noted that Allen was a member of this important electoral oversight committee which oversaw and certified all election processes and recounts in Wayne County. Wayne County is the most populous county in Michigan, with Detroit as its largest city, with over 1,793,561 citizens, making it the 19th most populous county in the United States. To this end, Allen's critical presence and resolve as a canvasser on this committee was further accentuated by the unfortunate refusal of then President Donald Trump to accept the results of the presidential election in 2020.
Yet Allen and current Wayne County Commissioner Jonathan C. Kinloch stood resolute and thwarted the efforts of those who wanted to disenfranchise the voters of Wayne County by denying their casted ballots. The record will reflect that democracy prevailed and President Joe Biden eventually won the state of Michigan by 154,000 votes. In the aftermath, our democratic processes and our sacred right to a free and fair election for all citizens withstood this possible constitutional crisis.
In 2021, Allen made an earnest effort to further engage in the electoral process by running as a candidate for the Romulus City Council in November 2021. He also ran a strong race for State Representative in 2022. And on Jan. 8, 2024, after working tirelessly on behalf of the residents of Romulus, Allen was installed as a Councilmember by the Romulus city council, filling a vacant seat.
As evidenced in the foregoing, Allen is a consistently active member of the community and, moreover, a strong participant in the democratic and/or electoral construct of our democracy. He is, and has been, a resident of Romulus, Michigan, since Nov. 20, 2000.
With the aforesaid as a backdrop, Allen has a proven track record of fighting for those who have been left behind. Whether the fight is for a UAW member who has been treated unfairly, a city resident who has a concern with roads in need of repair, a citizen concerned with fixing flooding and drainage concerns or the maintenance of our county parks, Allen has been in the fight.
As your Wayne County Commissioner, I will continually strive to be the change agent who will do the work to satisfy your grievances.
In unity,
Allen R. Wilson
Wayne County Commissioner
District 11
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